# Andreeva wins 11 straight games to stun Sabalenka and reach WTA Finals semi-finals Source: SportsBriefly (https://sportsbriefly.com) Canonical URL: https://sportsbriefly.com/en/tennis/andreeva-wins-11-straight-games-to-stun-sabalenka-and-reach-wta-finals-semi-fina Language: en Published: 2026-11-12T03:09:49.972+00:00 Updated: 2026-11-12T03:09:50.019353+00:00 > Mirra Andreeva beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. ## TL;DR - Mirra Andreeva beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. - Andreeva won the last 11 games after trailing 4-1 in the first set. - The 19-year-old reached the semi-finals on her WTA Finals debut as group winner. - Sabalenka must beat Elina Svitolina on Friday to reach the last four. ## Key points - Mirra Andreeva beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells. - Andreeva won the last 11 games after trailing 4-1 in the first set. - The 19-year-old reached the semi-finals on her WTA Finals debut as group winner. - Sabalenka must beat Elina Svitolina on Friday to reach the last four. Mirra Andreeva produced the most startling hour of the 2026 WTA Finals on Wednesday, storming back from 4-1 down to beat world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 and book her place in the semi-finals on her debut at the season-ending championship in Indian Wells, California. The 19-year-old French Open champion won the last 11 games of the match on Stadium 2, turning a first set that appeared to be slipping away into a rout that lasted only 62 minutes. The victory made Andreeva the winner of Group 2 with one round-robin match still to play, and it left Sabalenka needing to beat Elina Svitolina on Friday to claim the group's second semi-final place. Sabalenka, appearing at the WTA Finals for a sixth consecutive year, had made much the stronger start. The Belarusian broke Andreeva in the fourth game of the opening set and held for a 4-1 lead, her power from the baseline pushing the teenager behind the court and forcing errors. At that stage, a comfortable win for the world No. 2 looked the likeliest outcome. ## The turnaround What followed was one of the great mid-match transformations of the season. Andreeva held serve to make it 4-2, and from there she barely put a foot wrong. She won 31 of the next 35 points, reeling off five consecutive games to take the opening set 6-4 as Sabalenka's timing deserted her. The Belarusian, who had looked in control minutes earlier, began to miss routine balls, and her frustration was visible as the set slipped away. The numbers told the story of the turnaround. Andreeva finished the match with 16 winners against only six unforced errors, while Sabalenka made 23 unforced errors and did not produce a single ace. Once the teenager found her range, Sabalenka won only a handful of points in the closing stages, and the second set became a procession. ![Aryna Sabalenka at the 2026 Miami Open final](https://api.sportsbriefly.com/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1794452972323-u8x62r-tennis-inside1-2026-11-12-morning.jpg) ## A second set without reply Andreeva carried the momentum straight into the second set, breaking Sabalenka early and holding her own serve with growing authority. Sabalenka, the US Open runner-up this season and a four-time major singles champion, searched for a way back into the rallies but found no opening, her groundstrokes landing shorter and shorter as Andreeva took command of the baseline. The teenager's defence turned Sabalenka's pace back against her, and her depth on the return kept the world No. 2 pinned behind the baseline. A second break followed, and Andreeva closed out the match without dropping a game in the second set, sealing a 6-4, 6-0 victory that few in the Stadium 2 crowd could have predicted an hour earlier. ## A debut to remember The result capped a remarkable debut week for Andreeva at the WTA Finals. On Monday she had beaten Svitolina by the same 6-4, 6-0 scoreline, saving all six break points she faced, and Wednesday's win over Sabalenka gave her a second straight-sets victory and top spot in the group before her final round-robin match against Karolina Muchova. Andreeva, ranked world No. 3, arrived in Indian Wells as one of the form players of 2026. She won her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in June, one of three titles she has collected this season, and her run in California has confirmed her place among the very best in the women's game. Her composure under pressure has been the defining feature of the week: twice she has fallen behind early, and twice she has responded with near-flawless tennis. ![Aryna Sabalenka at the 2023 US Open](https://api.sportsbriefly.com/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1794452986855-gfytle-tennis-inside2-2026-11-12-morning.jpg) ## Sabalenka's road narrows For Sabalenka, the defeat leaves little margin for error. She opened her campaign with a straight-sets win over Muchova on Monday, but the loss to Andreeva means Friday's meeting with Svitolina is effectively a quarter-final, with the winner advancing to the semi-finals and the loser going home. Svitolina kept her own hopes alive earlier on Wednesday, coming back from a set down to beat Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and two minutes. The Ukrainian, the 2018 WTA Finals champion, is back at the event for the first time since 2019, and her meeting with Sabalenka now carries the group's second semi-final place. Muchova, beaten in both of her round-robin matches, is eliminated from semi-final contention. ## Head-to-head history rewritten The result also shifted the balance of a rivalry that Sabalenka had largely controlled. Before Wednesday, Sabalenka led their head-to-head 4-2, but Andreeva had won their most recent meeting, the 2025 Indian Wells final, coming from a set down to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Wednesday's victory was more emphatic still, and it was achieved on the same courts where she beat Sabalenka for the title last year. Andreeva will now wait to learn her semi-final opponent from the other group, where Linda Noskova has already qualified after beating Coco Gauff on Tuesday. For a 19-year-old playing her first WTA Finals, the semi-finals already represent a breakthrough. On Wednesday's evidence, she will not be satisfied with stopping there. Mentions: Mirra Andreeva, Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova, Coco Gauff, Linda Noskova, WTA Finals, Indian Wells, Stadium 2, Roland Garros, French Open, US Open ## Sources - [reuters.com](https://www.reuters.com/sports/tennis/andreeva-reaches-wta-finals-semis-svitolina-fights-back-beat-muchova-2026-11-11/) - [straitstimes.com](https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/tennis/andreeva-reaches-wta-finals-semis-svitolina-fights-back-to-beat-muchova) - [tennisnow.com](https://tennisnow.com/andreeva-catches-fire-against-sabalenka-locks-up-semifinal-spot-at-wta-finals/) - [desertsun.com](https://www.desertsun.com/story/sports/tennis/2026/11/11/svitolina-rallies-to-turn-back-muchova-at-wta-finals/92725037007/)